May 19, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine has moved here.

Anastasia Paraskevova

Anastasia Paraskevova recently returned to her home in Kharkiv for the first time since fleeing the city two months ago due to the war.

Paraskevova, who returned with her mother, said she was nervous about going back. Kharkiv, close to the Russian border in northeastern Ukraine, was one of the first cities to come under attack when Russia invaded in February.

It had been subjected to near-constant shelling until Russian forces began retreated in the region.

Paraskevova said overall the experience was good. “The city was much more alive. People were walking the streets. And some shops were working. It felt like some life was back, much better than it was when I was here in March.”

Paraskevova’s father had left with the family but returned to Kharkiv before them. Video shows the family reuniting, with hugs and relieved smiles.

Although her home was spared from the shelling, Paraskevova said seeing her apartment for the first time was not the “feel-good moment” she expected.

More than 1,000 cars carrying Ukrainians have been prevented from crossing into Ukrainian-held territory in Zaporizhzhia, according to the regional military administration there.

The administration said on Friday that cars full of people trying to evacuate were stuck at a Russian checkpoint in the city of Vasylivka.

Several cars managed to break through to the city of Zaporizhzhia, in southeastern Ukraine, on Thursday.

“Business owners of Berdyansk are forced to buy goods from Crimea, and it is necessary to sign up for an escort convoy. Such registration helps local collaborators to collect information about who returns with the goods and from whom you can later collect ‘tribute’,” the regional administration said.

A video posted to Telegram by the Ukrainian government’s Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security shows a long line of cars on the side of a road.

A uniformed soldier stands near a crater in the middle of a courtyard in Desna, Chernihiv, on Tuesday, May 17.

In the Chernihiv region north of Kyiv, the village of Desna was hit with Russian missiles Thursday left many dead, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address on Thursday. Desna is 40 forty miles from the border with Belarus.  

There are “constant strikes on the Odesa region, on the cities of central Ukraine, the Donbas is completely destroyed — all this has no and cannot have any military explanation for Russia,” he continued.  

“This is a deliberate and criminal attempt to kill as many Ukrainians as possible,” he said. 

The Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to advance in the liberation of the Kharkiv region, Zelensky said. 

“In the Donbas, the occupiers are trying to increase pressure. There’s hell, and that’s no exaggeration. The brutal and absolutely senseless bombing of Severodonetsk … There were 12 dead and dozens wounded in just one day,” he continued. 

“The bombing and shelling of other cities, the air and missile strikes of the Russian army — all this is not just fighting during the war.” 

“This is a deliberate and criminal attempt to kill as many Ukrainians as possible. Destroy as many houses, social facilities and enterprises as possible. This is what will qualify the genocide of the Ukrainian people and for which the occupiers will definitely be brought to justice,” he added. 

 “The first trial in Ukraine against a Russian war criminal has already begun. And it will end with the full restoration of justice within the international tribunal. I’m sure of it. We will find and bring to justice all those who give and carry out criminal orders,” he concluded. 

US President Joe Biden will sign the $40 billion aid package to Ukraine while he is in South Korea, an official says.

The bill has to be flown to Korea for the President’s signature.

Biden embarked on his trip to Seoul, South Korea on Thursday afternoon.

Ukraine’s most senior military figure has met with his NATO counterparts and given an upbeat assessment of the conflict.

“Today, we are not just defending ourselves. We have conducted a series of successful counter-attacks,” General Valeriy Zaluzhny, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian General Staff, said he had told the NATO Military Committee.

Ukrainian forces had unblocked sieges of Kharkiv and Mykolaiv, and were fighting in the Kherson direction, he said.

Zaluzhny said he had stressed that Ukrainians are paying an extremely high price for freedom and European choice, and Europe is experiencing the greatest security crisis since the Second World War. 

Ever since 2014, “we were aware that the full-scale aggression would eventually begin, and we were getting ready for it,” he added.

Ukraine’s military had “acknowledged that the first month would be the turning point. We managed to take away the enemy’s strategic initiative, cause critical losses, and force them to abandon the main objective — the capture of the city of Kyiv,” he continued.

However, despite Ukrainian successes, he said, “the Russians are maintaining missile fire of high intensity, on average 10-14 ballistic and cruise missiles per day. This is a threat not only to Ukraine, but also to NATO member states,” and it was crucial to strengthen missile defenses.

Lloyd Austin, US Secretary of State, speaks during a meeting with Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles at the Pentagon on Thursday.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin thanked Spain for supporting Ukraine as Russia’s invasion of the country continues, noting their “important military contributions to deterrence along NATO’s eastern flank” and “direct security assistance and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine,” during opening remarks ahead of a bilateral meeting with Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles at the Pentagon on Thursday.

Austin also said he is looking forward to the NATO summit Spain is hosting in Madrid next month. The summit will be a “turning point for the alliance” as NATO leaders “endorse a new strategic concept, one that must look both east and south,” Austin said.

Robles spoke first in English and then in Spanish. She thanked Austin for hosting her at the Pentagon, calling it “the best expression of our close relationship between United States and Spain.” 

In Spanish, Robles said that Putin’s attack on Ukraine is not only an attack on Ukraine itself, but an attack on the entire democratic community and democratic values. 

The Biden administration announced another $100 million security package for Ukraine Thursday as the President is set to sign a bill authorizing billions more in assistance. 

The additional security assistance that will “provide additional artillery, radars, and other equipment to Ukraine, which they are already using so effectively on the battlefield,” Biden said in a statement. “These weapons and equipment will go directly to the front lines of freedom in Ukraine, and reiterate our strong support for the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their country against Russia’s ongoing aggression.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken also released a statement.

“I am authorizing our tenth drawdown of additional arms and equipment for Ukraine’s defense from US Department of Defense inventories, valued at up to $100 million,” he said in a statement.

The latest package brings the total US military assistance to Ukraine to approximately $3.9 billion in arms and equipment since the beginning of the Russian invasion. 

“The United States, as well as more than 40 Allies and partner countries, are working around the clock to expedite shipments of arms and equipment essential to Ukraine’s defense,” Blinken said. 

It comes as the White House warned any further delay in authorizing additional funding to Ukraine could lead to interruptions in the shipments of weapons and equipment. 

The Biden administration has made it a top priority to get shipments into Ukraine as quickly as possible, cutting down the approval and delivery process from weeks to days. But officials had warned that money was running out from the last supplemental funding package and that Congress had to act quickly to keep the critical weapons shipments flowing.

The announcement of the latest security package comes as Biden is set to sign a new $40 billion aid bill into law. It includes $11 billion in presidential drawdown authority in which the US pulls directly from American inventories to send weapons to Ukraine, as well as another $6 billion for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, where the Pentagon contracts with weapons manufacturers for Ukraine.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba speaks to the press in Brussels, on May 16.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he discussed ways to “unblock” Ukrainian food exports with his UK counterpart, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.

In a tweet Thursday, Kuleba said he spoke with Truss about “ways to hold Russia accountable for its aggression and unblock Ukraine’s food exports.”

“Russia bears full responsibility not only for killing, torturing, and raping Ukrainians, but also for starving people across the world, including in Africa,” Kuleba continued. 

The blockade on Ukrainian exports was also discussed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a call Thursday. 

In a tweet, Zelensky said the two leaders had discussed “ways to export agricultural products from Ukraine and import fuel to Ukraine.”

Earlier on Thursday, World Food Programme (WFP) chief David Beasley said the failure to open ports in Ukraine would “be a declaration of war on global food security, resulting in famine destabilization of nations, as well as mass migration by necessity.” 

Beasley called it “absolutely essential” that ports are allowed open, stressing “this is not just about Ukraine” but also “about the poorest of the poor around the world who are on the brink of starvation as we speak.” 

Volunteers wearing vyshyvankas invite people to embroider Ukrainian attire during celebration of the Vyshyvanka Day in Odesa, Ukraine, on May 19.

Ukraine’s traditional white embroidered shirt, called a vyshyvanka, is a symbol of solidarity with Ukraine and Ukrainian culture — even more so since Russia invaded the country on Feb. 24. 

On Vyshyvanka Day this year, the Ukrainian traditional shirt has taken center stage online once again, as messages and pictures of solidarity are pouring in, from humans and animals alike. 

“Today, on #VyshyvankaDay, I join Ukrainians around the world in their tradition to wear a #vyshyvanka. Ukrainians’ fight for freedom is our fight too,” said European Parliament President Roberta Metsola on her official Twitter feed as well. 

UNICEF Ukraine, along with a picture showing two Ukrainian newborn twins, also marked the day, writing “Happy #VyshyvankaDay from these two cuties born in #Kharkiv 💙#ForEveryChild, a peaceful and healthy life.”

Professional boxer Wladimir Klitschko and his brother, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, posed on social media wearing their vyshyvankas.

“Happy Vyshyvanka Day, friends!” said Wladimir. “Today an embroidered shirt is one of the symbols of our people heroic fight for freedom. It’s also an element of recognition of the Ukrainians in the world. I’m always proud to be Ukrainian! And especially today. Glory to Ukraine! Glory to its heroes!”

The Ukrainian Emergency Services featured a picture of one of its most dedicated staffers, the dog Patron, wearing a vyshyvanka too. 

“Maintaining traditions, today our Patron changed his ‘armor’ to an embroidered shirt! Looks cool, what do you think?” the service said on its official Twitter account Thursday.

Members speak on the Senate floor on May 19, in Washington, DC. 

The United States Senate just approved a roughly $40 billion package to send emergency aid to Ukraine by a wide bipartisan majority.

The final vote was 86-11. The bill will now go to President Biden for his signature. 

All Democrats supported the legislation. Eleven Republican senators voted against it: Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, John Boozman of Arkansas, Mike Braun of Indiana, Mike Crapo of Idaho, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Mike Lee of Utah, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the US Senate’s passage of further economic assistance, tweeting that it is “significant.”

Prior to the vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that the Senate “will keep its promise to stand with the people of Ukraine.” He added that the $40 billion in military, economic and humanitarian aid is “large” and “it will meet the large needs of the Ukrainian people as they fight for their survival.”

Schumer noted that given how important it is to back Ukraine in its fight against Russia, “I wish I could say this vote will be totally unanimous.” Every Democrat in the House supported the emergency aid package, and all Democrats in the Senate are expected to as well.

He added: “Around the world, our enemies are watching what we do right now. What do you think they’re going to conclude if they start seeing more and more US senators oppose aid to democracies under attack by authoritarianism? Our adversaries might conclude that we’re divided America is divided; they might conclude that we lack purpose.”

Read more:

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomes Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) before a meeting, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 14, 2022. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT

Related article Senate to vote on $40 billion Ukraine aid package

Gen. Mark Milley attends a hearing on May 11, in Washington, DC. 

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley spoke with his Russian counterpart, General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov, by phone on Thursday, a readout of the conversation from Joint Staff spokesperson Col. Dave Butler said.

This is the first conversation between the two leaders since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24.

“The military leaders discussed several security-related issues of concern and agreed to keep the lines of communication open,” the readout of the conversation said.

Milley’s conversation with Gerasimov comes six days after US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Russian counterpart, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, for the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.

The conversation between Austin and Shoigu lasted approximately an hour. Austin used the call to urge Shoigu to implement an “immediate ceasefire” in Ukraine, according to a brief readout of the call. The last time the two had spoken was Feb. 18, before Russia began their invasion of Ukraine.

The Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine, on May 15.

While hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers have left the Azovstal plant this week, there are likely still hundreds inside the besieged complex on the edge of Mariupol — and they appear to include some senior commanders.

One of them is Maj. Bohdan Krotevych, chief of staff of the Azov Regiment. Over the past few days, he has posted on his social media accounts frequently, talking about military tactics and the fight ahead for Ukraine, but not about what might happen to him.

In a post Wednesday, he suggested that he would not be surrendering, saying that “the fight continues.”

Russia’s defense ministry said over 1,700 Ukrainian soldiers have surrendered at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol since May 16. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian military official said the evacuation of the plant continues, and he believes Russia will uphold its word to treat soldiers according to international law. The International Committee of the Red Cross said it has registered hundreds of Ukrainian prisoners of war who have left the plant.

Krotevych said that “Russia, like the United States, was accustomed to fighting against much weaker countries, and every problem was solved by massive artillery shelling or air raids. We are weaker in military potential, but the self-confidence of the enemy is our trump card.”

Another one of the Azov Regiment officers still in the steel plant issued a short video statement Thursday evening.

Sviatoslav Palamar, Azov’s deputy commander, said: “My command and I are on the territory of the Azovstal plant. An operation is underway. I will not give any details. I’m grateful to the whole world and to Ukraine for support. I will be seeing you!”

Palamar provided no further indication of what the operation might be.

Some Russian politicians have proposed that Azov commanders be tried as war criminals if they are detained. Russian state media frequently refers to them as “neo-Nazis” and militant nationalists.

Kostan Nechyporenko contributed reporting to this post.

Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, US President Joe Biden and Finnish President Sauli Niinistö depart the Rose Garden of the White House after speaking on May 19.

On Thursday, leaders of Sweden and Finland met with US President Joe Biden at the White House after they submitted their NATO membership applications on Wednesday.

Here’s what you need to know about what the leaders said at the press conference in the Rose Garden after their meeting in the Cabinet Room.

Biden offers “strong support” for Finland and Sweden’s NATO bids

“Finnish and Swedish troops, they have already served shoulder to shoulder with US and NATO forces in Kosovo, in Afghanistan and in Iraq. And both Finland and Sweden are already working in coordination with the United States and our other allies and partners to support the brave people of Ukraine,” Biden said, adding that the countries already meet all of NATO requirements, “and then some.”

The Biden administration will submit reports to the US Congress on this NATO accession for both countries

This is “so the Senate can efficiently and quickly move on advising and consenting to the treaty,” Biden announced Thursday. Within the US, at least two-third of the Senate must vote to approve new member states in the defensive alliance. Similarly, the legislatures of all 30 current members must approve new NATO applicants.

Leaders of Finland and Sweden expressed their hopes for a quick ratification

“Russia’s war in Ukraine has changed Europe and our security environment. Finland takes the step of NATO membership in order to strengthen not only its own security, but also in order to strengthen wider transatlantic security,” Finnish President Sauli Niinistö said.

Finland shares an 800-mile-long border with Russia.

Sweden’s government “has come to the conclusion that the security of the Swedish people will be best protected within the NATO alliance, and this is backed by very broad support in the Swedish parliament,” Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said.

Turkey was also mentioned by every leader

As Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated earlier on Thursday that his country “will say no to Sweden’s and Finland’s entry into NATO.”

In explanation he has cited national security concerns. Earlier this week, Erdogan accused both countries of housing Kurdish “terrorist organizations.”

He was mainly referencing the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which seeks an independent state in Turkey. The group has been in an armed struggle with Ankara for decades and has been designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

Twelve civilians have been killed and more than 40 wounded in a day of heavy shelling by Russian forces, the military administration in the Luhansk region said.

Luhansk administration head Serhiy Haidai said all the casualties occurred in the city of Severodonetsk.

Haidai described the shelling as chaotic, adding that “mostly the Russians targeted hits on residential buildings.”

He said the number of casualties was not final, “as it is impossible to inspect the area under fire.”

Employees raise a flag outside the US embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 18, as the embassy reopens after being closed for three months due to the Russian invasion.

The US military is not currently planning to send any troops to the US embassy in Kyiv that reopened on Wednesday, according to a senior US defense official, though that doesn’t mean US troops won’t be deployed there in the future.

The defense officials told reporters that the Pentagon would defer to the State Department on embassy security needs, noting that moving US troops to the US embassy in Ukraine has not been ruled out in the future.

“Right now, there’s no US military security component to their embassy security needs. But that is not to say that that couldn’t change over time,” the official said.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has not yet made a decision one way or the other about whether the US military should be at the embassy, which had closed ahead of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, the official added. 

“There has not been a specific decision by the secretary one way or the other on this,” the official said. “And he certainly has not expressed an opinion that he does not or never will want to provide any military assistance should it be needed by the State Department.”

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröeder speaks during an interview in Berlin, Germany, on September 14.

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who has come under fire for not severing his Russian business ties following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, will have to give up his office at the German Parliament (Bundestag), a parliamentary budget committee ruled Thursday.   

Germany’s governing coalition — led by the Social Democrat Party (SPD) of which Schröder is still a member of and the party he once led — decided to cut back Schröder’s special rights as a former chancellor, following his ongoing business ties to Russia, a statement posted on the website of the Bundestag said. The former chancellor will however still continue to receive a pension and personal protection, the statement added.  

Schröder, 78, led Germany as chancellor from 1998 until 2005 and is known for his long time personal relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.  

Schröder also faced calls from the European Parliament on Thursday to be sanctioned due to his ongoing business and political links to Russia. A resolution by the EU Parliament said that EU sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine should be extended “to the European members of the boards of major Russian companies and to politicians who continue to receive Russian money.”  

The resolution named former Austrian chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel and former French prime minister François Fillon as two examples who recently resigned from their positions in Russian companies — and ”strongly demands that others, such as Karin Kneissl (a former Austrian foreign minister) and Gerhard Schröder, do the same.”  

Schröder currently holds leading positions with Russian energy companies Nord Stream 1 and 2 and the oil company Rosneft, where he is chairman of the supervisory board. Schröder is also slated to take on a supervisory board post for Kremlin-controlled Gazprom.   

In March, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz asked Schröder to resign from his multiple positions at Russian state-owned companies, saying that Schröder’s Russia connections are in the public interest. Politicians across Germany rebuked the former chancellor for months for not cutting business ties with Russia. In early March, Schröder’s own team at the Bundestag resigned in protest having failed to persuade him to severe his business links to Russia.  

Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson speaks at the White House on May 19.

Russia’s “full-scale aggression” against Ukraine led to the “watershed moment” for Sweden to decide to apply for a NATO membership, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said Thursday at the Rose Garden.

“My government has come to the conclusion that the security of the Swedish people will be best protected within the NATO alliance, and this is backed by very broad support in the Swedish parliament,” she said as she stood with US President Joe Biden and Finnish President Sauli Niinistö.

She emphasized that NATO will also be stronger with Sweden and Finland as members.

“We are security providers with sophisticated defense capabilities. And we are champions of freedom, democracy, and human rights. We have a long tradition of extensive military cooperation with NATO, including all missions. And we are right now ramping up our defense spending and we will reach 2% of GDP as soon as practically possible,” she added.

Andersson called US support for Sweden’s NATO membership of “fundamental importance,” but said she’s looking forward to a dialogue with Turkey to address its concerns.

Sweden looks forward to “a swift ratification process,” she added, saying it is “prepared to shoulder its responsibility as an ally in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.”

Finnish President Sauli Niinistö speaks in the Rose Garden on May 19, in Washington, DC.

In remarks at the White House, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö said that “Finland will become a strong NATO ally” after meeting with US President Joe Biden along with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson.

He said he hoped there would be “swift ratification” of Finland’s NATO application.

Niinistö also addressed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying he will refuse both Finland and Sweden’s entry into NATO.

Earlier this week, Erdogan accused both countries of housing Kurdish “terrorist organizations.” He was mainly referencing the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which seeks an independent state in Turkey. The group has been in an armed struggle with Ankara for decades and has been designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

The legislatures of all 30 current NATO members must approve new applicants.

Niinistö also spoke about how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted his country to seek NATO membership.

“[On] 24th February, I said that that the masks have fallen and we see only the cold faces of war. Russia’s war in Ukraine has changed Europe and our security environment. Finland takes the step of NATO membership in order to strengthen not only its own security, but also in order to strengthen wider transatlantic security. This is not away from anybody. Like you, Mr. President [Biden] said, NATO is protective, defensive, not a threat to anybody,” he said.

Finland shares an 800-mile-long border with Russia.

US President Joe Biden speaks alongside Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson on May 19, in Washington, DC.

After US President Joe Biden announced the United States’ full support for Sweden and Finland’s applications for NATO membership, he said his administration will submit reports to the US Congress on this NATO accession for both countries.

“Today, my administration is submitting to the United States Congress reports on NATO accession for both countries so the Senate can efficiently and quickly move on advising and consenting to the treaty,” he said Thursday at the Rose Garden.

He urged Senate leadership to move this approval “as quickly as possible, once perspective of all allies are addressed and NATO adopts the accession protocol.”

Remember: Within the US, at least two-third of the Senate must vote to approve new member states in the defensive alliance. Similarly, the legislatures of all 30 current members must approve new NATO applicants.